


Escape

by prosaicwonder



Series: Chasing the Dragon [3]
Category: Beyblade, ベイブレードバースト | Beyblade Burst (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Headcanon, One Shot, Spoilers, Subtext, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 02:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10323026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosaicwonder/pseuds/prosaicwonder
Summary: No matter how many times he would escape, I’d still catch up to him in the end.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place around a year after Pursuit, and ends around the events of anime season 1 episode 39.  
> Major headcanons in this part, which are a result of me trying to make sense of the bits of info we have from the manga and anime, so again please don’t take this too seriously lol;;

A lot of things had changed during the year of Lui’s third consecutive win in the national individual tournament.

 

Since Rideout became an official team, I had managed to lead the group to another victory in the team tournament. It was all thanks to them - no one else in the country had probably trained as much as us. At that point, we were unstoppable.

 

Though Lui had avoided these tournaments and would not participate in them at all, he would still come and watch us – I knew this because he’d always stand by himself at the top of the stadium with his arms crossed.

 

Near the end of that year, a then-unknown junior student approached my team. Apparently, he had been watching our matches on television, as he could not make it to the team tournament in person.

 

“I’m Kyo Sandai,” he had said as he bowed deeply in front of the rest of us (except for Lui, who did not attend our meetings unless it was absolutely necessary). A younger kouhai, with black spiky hair and an energetic disposition, who I had admittedly never seen in the school before that day.

 

“I love Beyblade and I’ve always admired this team. You were all so cool in the last tournament… Please consider allowing me to join you, _senpai_!“

 

At the time, I had been caught off-guard: his enthusiasm was a plus, though it probably meant that he would get into trouble later on.

 

It was an odd feeling, too, to be called _senpai_ by someone. It was the first time that this sort of thing had happened to me, but I had to get used to it – there would probably be others after Kyo who would do the same.

 

I looked down at him. His head had still been lowered, as if he were ashamed to meet my eyes. Back then, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at that.

 

“You can get up,” I had told him. Slowly, he raised his head to meet mine. I had then looked into his eyes; somehow, he reminded me of my younger self.

 

"Welcome to Rideout, Kyo.”

 

* * *

 

Kyo turned out to be a hardworking boy - a valuable new member of the team. He was always eager to learn, and had managed to catch on to our strict regime without much difficulty.

 

Though, it had been tough… Kyo was at least three years younger than the rest of the team members, which meant that he couldn’t get along as well with them because he did not understand their ways of thinking. His age also meant that he lacked the maturity and tact that the others possessed.

 

This had also been the reason why Kyo had seen Lui as a threat on the team; whenever Lui would ignore the others or say something that provoked him, Kyo would become angered and attempt to fight with him. Already the one who was taken the least seriously out of everyone in the group, Kyo disliked it when Lui - or anyone else in that matter - ignored him.

 

It was ironic that he would also end up despising the team member who he had admired the most.

 

Kyo had admitted to me one day that - even though he looked up to all of us in the team - he actually wanted to be the most like Lui. In his eyes, Lui was a hero in the stadium, and the way he had commanded Longinus in the finals had been ‘just incredible’. However, it made Kyo sad that Lui pushed his teammates away and spoke so bluntly to others.

 

I had then told Kyo that it was okay to feel that way; however, he was to refrain from expressing those thoughts in front of others - especially the rest of the team… because one of the things Lui despised was being admired, or ‘gawked at’, as he called it.

 

We were not even allowed to cheer for Lui on the sidelines - he would not have it.

 

And yet, it was fine for the hundreds of strangers to call out his name during his matches, to clap wildly and scream while expressing how amazing and powerful he was in comparison to all the other participants… maybe it was because it was _us_ , that Lui hated it. Maybe he just didn’t like the idea of having any ties to anyone he knew…

 

It was almost as if he was afraid to get close to anyone.

 

* * *

 

During Lui’s fourth consecutive year of becoming champion, I had met his newest (and then-strongest) opponent some time before the individual finals. Shu Kurenai seemed to be a novice, having not participated in any tournaments previously. The media had already dubbed him as an upcoming genius blader; however, he was clearly someone who knew what it meant to work hard.

 

He was also the first person that Lui would recognise as a worthy opponent since our fateful battle from years ago.

 

During the semifinal round that same year, Shu Kurenai had been on standby in the waiting room. It was nearly time for my match, too, so I had been waiting there as well. We did speak for a while before our respective matches; I remember that he had been polite, though aloof when talking to strangers.

 

I can’t really remember how it changed, but at some point, the conversation had shifted to another topic.

 

“How did you end up becoming a blader?” I had asked.

 

“It was because of a friend.” was his reply.

 

“I see… Is that person watching you now?”

“Yes, he’s in the audience.”

“It’s good that you have someone who supports you.”

“Yeah. He’s the reason why I’m here now.”

 

Strong words; they had stuck with me up until now, and would probably never leave my thoughts for as long as I was around.

 

Back then, I had smiled after hearing his answer. “Guess that makes two of us.”

 

He seemed a bit surprised at first, before he looked at me in realisation. “You, and Shirasagijo…?”

 

I would’ve nodded if he had not been called for the next match.

 

* * *

 

The final battle between the top two had been a sudden dramatic turn of events.

 

It was surprising that the broadcasting companies made no effort to censor what had happened; even afterward, everyone had seen the result.

 

Seeing Lui’s wide eyes as he had loudly laughed in the face of his opponent was enough to send chills through even the most composed viewers. He had not stopped his crazed laughter even when Shu Kurenai was rushed to the nearest hospital from the stadium, for a large gash over his right eye that bled far more than normal.

 

Before then, Lui would never go this far during battles. I am still not sure when his intention to go further than just winning had begun - if I had to guess, it was probably when he had increased his training and stopped sleeping at night to practice more.

 

Compared to the first year, it was clear that Lui did not just want to win anymore: he was willing to crush the opponent’s body _and_ spirit, if necessary. Perhaps it was out of desperation to remain at the top, I had thought, before my subconscious reminded me that he was not the type to resort to petty methods.

 

And then one day it finally clicked: maybe he did it because he knew of nothing else to do. Again, he probably did not realise the severity of his actions.

 

If so, what was the right thing to do: stop him, or just leave him be?

 

* * *

 

One thing I picked up over the years was how Lui would contradict how he really felt by saying unnecessarily harsh words. It had taken me a long time to figure it out, just as it had taken a long time for him to finally acknowledge our friendship.

 

By discovering this aspect of him, I learned that the best thing to do was to treat him with kindness, no matter how far he went verbally. And it had worked every time: no matter how harsh he was on the outside, no matter how much he pushed me away - he would always return to me. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that me being kind to Lui had made him rethink his actions; perhaps he really was just lonely inside.

 

It had also taken me a while to realise that Lui’s hypercriticism stemmed from years of relentless training, and that the more he expected of others, the harsher his words would be. I definitely believed that he had recognised the potential of every team member, which was why they were often on the receiving end of his extreme criticism. I was no exception to this, either.

 

And thus, I had persisted with being kind towards him. With the way Lui trained every week, it had become routine for me to check up on him during every practice. No matter how much he hated it when I disrupted his training, and no matter how much he would raise his voice and demand for me to get out… I would never lash out at him in return. It was a far cry from when I would leave his training room in a huff, asking him: “Why are you like this?”

 

After that, whenever he had an outburst, Lui would never apologise out loud, though I could always tell what he was thinking by looking into his eyes. Sometimes he had seemed almost sad afterwards; lonely, even… it made me feel oddly protective of him.

 

After that, I made sure that I was always by his side.

 

* * *

 

“I had a coach once,” Lui told me one day.

 

He and Kyo had gotten into another fight: Kyo had lost his temper over the way Lui handled any form of compliments, whether they were directed at himself or at other team members. Shinki and Katana knew better than to argue whenever Lui would counter the words of praise with harsh criticism of his own. However, it was Kyo who had yet to realise that fighting back would only make things worse.

 

Lui’s words had sent a shiver down my spine; perhaps it was the way he said it so coldly, as if he did not care at all.

 

I then leaned forward, silently encouraging him to continue.

 

“… He was one of the best in the country. The reason for many of the world’s champion bladers, actually.”

 

He had closed his eyes before he spoke again. “The stronger I became, the more he would criticise me. Eventually, nothing was good enough anymore. In his eyes, I was a terrible blader.”

 

I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t been shocked at the revelation. Though it did make sense: that may have been the reason why he called others ‘terrible bladers’, too.

 

“He hated me so much that he’d tell me to get out.” He had let out a laugh at that, but I found nothing funny or amusing about what he had said.

 

Ah, but I had finally understood more about that part of him that he kept locked away at all times. Lui expected a lot of himself and others; that was why he would not hold back on insulting anyone who caught his attention. It was his own roundabout way of telling that person that they had potential, but also that they needed to get better if they wanted to win against him.

 

If the person truly was a terrible blader, Lui would’ve just flat out ignored them.

 

At the same time, any bladers who looked up to him always ended up losing the match.

 

It was a pattern doomed to repeat itself: Lui would crush those opponents over and over again, and in the process, he had made dozens of enemies throughout his career, but he could not let that bother him.

 

“… I’m sorry.” I said eventually, quietly. Lui did not reply as he looked forward with hardened eyes, a deep frown on his face as he did so. I understood.

 

I placed my hand on top of his shoulder, leaning forward until his eyes met mine.

 

“It must’ve been difficult back then. I can’t even imagine how you must’ve felt.”

 

He had tensed initially but soon relaxed into my touch; still, he said nothing.

 

“I guess I understand now why you said that to me,” I told him, before allowing a small smile to form on my face.

 

_'Don’t you dare screw this up.’_

 

“… That’s why I promise that I will be a good captain to my team.”

 

Lui stared at me for a moment before he finally spoke again, quietly as well. “I’m not expecting anything less from you.”

 

Yes, I would aim to make my team the best one, but I would also not hesitate to give out praise if someone did well. If Lui was the one who would dish out insults, then I had to counter that. In time, the others would understand why he acted that way. Aside from that, I had made it my personal mission to be kind to all my teammates, because in the end, I was still responsible for all of them.

 

I wouldn’t allow Lui to remain alone. No matter how many times he would escape, I’d still catch up to him in the end.

 

* * *

 

The fifth year had been the same one in which Valt Aoi had first participated in the national tournament.

 

He was an odd character, the embodiment of everything that Lui despised: loud, spontaneous and overly friendly. He was everything that Lui Shirasagijo was not.

 

And yet, there was that _something_ about him which had caused a change to happen in Lui. Somehow, Lui begun to acknowledge that guy as a formidable opponent, even if he would never admit it out loud. That guy was the sole reason why Lui had decided to finally participate in the team tournament, and he had actually managed to score a point against Lui during the team finals - something which not even Shu Kurenai was able to achieve.

 

I still remember the day that the newly-formed Beigoma Academy Bey Club had crashed our team’s training session. They were a strange bunch of kids, with no sort of strategy or teamwork at all… and yet, somehow, they had been a huge threat to us: perhaps it was because _he_ had been their leader.

 

Valt Aoi was inconsistent, dubbed the ‘Miracle Boy’ by the media - yet he could be impressive at times. Despite his inexperience and small size, that guy managed to lift the same equipment I was using when we had met at the training center. Later that day, I found out that he had also spoken to Lui, who told me that Valt Aoi had "seen the wire”. Lui wouldn’t say any more than that, and he had gotten angry when I tried to find out what happened between the two of them.

 

The two of us seemed to come to an understanding: although Lui could still be harsh at times, he truly did care about the things that I said.

 

It reminded me of my conversation with Shu Kurenai the year before: I realised later on that the captain of Beigoma Academy’s team had been the same friend he had spoken about - the one who was the reason for his success.

 

If it weren’t for Lui’s veiled words of encouragement, I would’ve given up long ago.

 

Before I had entered the familiar secluded practice room, I smiled.

 

I wanted to see him battle once more.


End file.
